drum

[druhm]

noun, plural drums, (especially collectively for 11) drum.

a musical percussion instrument consisting of a hollow, usually cylindrical, body covered at one or both ends with a tightly stretched membrane, or head, which is struck with the hand, a stick, or a pair of sticks, and typically produces a booming, tapping, or hollow sound.

any hollow tree or similar object or device used in this way.

the sound produced by such an instrument, object, or device.

any rumbling or deep booming sound.

a natural organ by which an animal produces a loud or bass sound.

eardrum.

any cylindrical object with flat ends.

a cylindrical part of a machine.

a cylindrical box or receptacle, especially a large, metal one for storing or transporting liquids.

Also called tambour. Architecture.

any of several cylindrical or nearly cylindrical stones laid one above the other to form a column or pier.
a cylindrical or faceted construction supporting a dome.

any of several marine and freshwater fishes of the family Sciaenidae that produce a drumming sound.

Also called drum memory. Computers. magnetic drum.

Archaic. an assembly of fashionable people at a private house in the evening.

a person who plays the drum.

Australian Informal. reliable, confidential, or profitable information: to give someone the drum.

verb (used without object), drummed, drum·ming.

to beat or play a drum.

to beat on anything rhythmically, especially to tap one's fingers rhythmically on a hard surface.

to make a sound like that of a drum; resound.

(of ruffed grouse and other birds) to produce a sound resembling drumming.

verb (used with object), drummed, drum·ming.

to beat (a drum) rhythmically; perform by beating a drum: to drum a rhythm for dancers.

to call or summon by, or as if by, beating a drum.

to drive or force by persistent repetition: to drum an idea into someone.

to fill a drum with; store in a drum: to drum contaminated water and dispose of it.

Verb Phrases

drum out,

(formerly) to expel or dismiss from a military service in disgrace to the beat of a drum.
to dismiss in disgrace: He was drummed out of the university for his gambling activities.

drum up,

to call or summon by, or as if by, beating a drum.
to obtain or create (customers, trade, interest, etc.) through vigorous effort: They were unable to drum up enthusiasm for the new policies.
to concoct; devise: to drum up new methods of dealing with urban crime.

Idioms

beat the drum, to promote, publicize, or advertise: The boss is out beating the drum for a new product.

Origin of drum

1535–45; back formation from drumslade drum, drummer, alteration of Dutch or Low German trommelslag drumbeat, equivalent to trommel drum + slag beat (akin to slagen to beat; cognate with slay)

Related formsun·der·drum·ming, noun

drum

[druhm]

noun Scot., Irish English.

a long, narrow hill or ridge.

Origin of drum

1715–25; < Irish and Scots Gaelic druim

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for drums

strum, roar, thunder, throb, rap, pulsate, reverberate, boom, tattoo, thrum

Examples from the Web for drums

Contemporary Examples of drums

But they had not quit and here they now were as the Emerald Society Pipes and Drums came into the Garden.
Cop Families Boo De Blasio at NYPD Graduation
Michael Daly
December 30, 2014
The NYPD Emerald Society pipes and drums struck up a slow march and the procession began the journey to the cemetery.
Choking Back Tears, Thousands of Cops Honor Fallen Officer Ramos
Michael Daly
December 28, 2014
The “rooty toot toot” is simply the noise the horns make, while “rummy tum tum” is the drums.
The Most Confusing Christmas Music Lyrics Explained (VIDEO)
Kevin Fallon
December 24, 2014
It was one night, with Tony Williams on drums and, I think, Richard Davis on bass.
Herbie Hancock Holds Forth
David Yaffe
November 8, 2014
But, like a traditional shaman, Coltrane clearly believed that the drums served as a springboard to a higher order of engagement.
What if Jazz Giant John Coltrane Had Lived?
Ted Gioia
September 14, 2014

Historical Examples of drums

We gave the horses water out of the drums, and turned eastward with them.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
We had to carry the water from the spring in drums, which was slow and hard work.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
When he heard the drums he flared up like a spark in the tinder.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin
While I talked, there burst forth suddenly the racket of fifes and drums in the road.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic
All up the Valley the drums' rattle drowned the drone of the locusts in the stubble.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic

British Dictionary definitions for drums

drum

noun

music a percussion instrument sounded by striking a membrane stretched across the opening of a hollow cylinder or hemisphere

beat the drum for informal to attempt to arouse interest in

the sound produced by a drum or any similar sound

an object that resembles a drum in shape, such as a large spool or a cylindrical container

architect

one of a number of cylindrical blocks of stone used to construct the shaft of a column
the wall or structure supporting a dome or cupola

short for eardrum

Also called: drumfish any of various North American marine and freshwater sciaenid fishes, such as Equetus pulcher (striped drum), that utter a drumming sound

a type of hollow rotor for steam turbines or axial compressors

computing a rotating cylindrical device on which data may be stored for later retrieval: now mostly superseded by disksSee disk (def. 2)

archaic a drummer

the drum Australian informal the necessary information (esp in the phrase give (someone) the drum)

verb drums, drumming or drummed

to play (music) on or as if on a drum

to beat or tap (the fingers) rhythmically or regularly

(intr) (of birds) to produce a rhythmic sound, as by beating the bill against a tree, branch, etc

(tr sometimes foll by up) to summon or call by drumming

(tr) to instil by constant repetitionto drum an idea into someone's head

Word Origin for drum

C16: probably from Middle Dutch tromme, of imitative origin

drum

noun

Scot and Irish a narrow ridge or hill

Word Origin for drum

C18: from Scottish Gaelic druim

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for drums

drum

1540s, probably from Middle Dutch tromme "drum," common Germanic (cf. German Trommel, Danish tromme, Swedish trumma), probably of imitative origin. Not common before 1570s. Slightly older, and more common at first, was drumslade, apparently from Dutch or Low German trommelslag. Machinery sense attested from 1740, from similarity of shape.

drum

1570s, from drum (n.). To drum (up) business, etc., is American English 1839, from the old way of drawing a crowd.

drums in Medicine

drum

[drŭm]

n.

eardrum